Lasting Joy

Homily for Thursday of the Sixth Week in Eastertide

The Gospel text for today features five verses from chapter sixteen of the Gospel of St. John. The first four of those verses seem to repeat the same thing over and over again both from the perspective of Jesus, who speaks these words to the disciples, and from the perspective of the disciples, who are confused by their meaning. The very last verse that we read today shifts into a consideration of weeping, mourning, and grieving while ending with a brief comment about joy.

If we consider everyone who lives within a five-mile radius of the convent of St. Francis of the Woods, I’m sure that we would find instances of people who are weeping, mourning, and grieving. Loss of loved ones through death, marriages breaking up and heading for divorce, families disrupted by the breadwinner’s loss of employment, and diagnoses of terminal illness are just a few of the reasons why our neighbors are experiencing sadness.

However, while the Gospel text seems to highlight this part of human experience, the resurrection of Jesus acts as a counterweight to grief. Consequently, Jesus ends by telling his disciples that grief will become joy if they place their hope in his Resurrection. Of course, while we know that Jesus will rise from the dead after his death on the cross, the disciples are completely unaware of what lies before them and their Master.

Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have the assurance that Christ will make all things new. We live with the hope that our grief in the end truly will turn joy because death has been defeated. It has been vanquished by the promise of eternal life. For those who believe in Jesus, even after he is gone physically, hope remains.